http://heatherwitt.com/blog1 ASK HEATHER: email your training questions to heather@heatherwitt.com Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:01:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I get a DogFriendly.com newsletter from time to time and they always have a few great tips for traveling with your pet and suggestions for pet-friendly destinations. In this week's edition there were links for a North Fork Wine Tour and off-leash beach run on October 4th and October 17th and ... http://heatherwitt.com/blog1/2009/10/06/things-to-do-with-your-dog-from-dogfriendly-com/ WordPress blogging software was corrupt and it took them a long time to finally upgrade to a new edition. Hopefully everything is working now and you'll see more posts from me. In the meantime, here is an interesting article Time Magazine just published about how a dog's "social intelligence"  is learned... http://heatherwitt.com/blog1/2009/09/14/sorry-been-so-long-since-posting/ Not sure how many of you attended the first annual Lyme Walk fundraiser at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport on Sunday, but we were there with our kids along with several thousand other runners and walkers. As our son has battled with Lyme Disease for a few years now it ... http://heatherwitt.com/blog1/2009/04/07/lyme-disease-walk-in-westport/ http://heatherwitt.com/blog1/2009/02/24/maple-girl-doing-agility/ It seems all too common these days to hear stories about dog-on-dog (sometimes dogs-on-dog) attacks leaving someone's beloved pet perminantly injured, handicapped, oftentimes dead. The Town of Trumbull unanimously passed "Gracie's Law" in October 2005 in response to a deadly pitbull attack on the Jositas family collie while she was walking her dog down the street. The law ... http://heatherwitt.com/blog1/2008/12/17/shelton-resident-pushes-town-to-adopt-gracies-law/ To ease the transition of a puppy into its new home, try these little tricks: 1. Take a shirt or towel out of the laundry hamper and send it to your new baby before you bring her home. This will make your scent familiar to her when she comes home to ... http://heatherwitt.com/blog1/2008/11/17/bringing-puppy-home/ If you don't like the excitement level of your dog then STOP. If you open that door, or clip on that leash, put down that dinner dish, or throw that ball, then you have reinforced the behavior you are seeing at the moment of reward. Some dogs jump around when you ... http://heatherwitt.com/blog1/2008/07/20/timing-is-everything/ Maple, and every dog before her, loves ice cream. What dog doesn't? But chew bones are expensive and Frosty Paws, while more readily available, are getting more expensive too and barely last long enough for you to close the freezer door. So I decided to experiment came up with my own yummy ... http://heatherwitt.com/blog1/2008/06/01/homemade-cool-treat-hits-the-spot-for-summer/ It was mentioned here on a February 15th post that the rights for beach access for dogs to Fairfield Beach were at risk. Now there is a petition to charge a $400 to $800 permit fee as well as shortening of the season by two months. There is a petition to oppose these new rule changes being ... http://heatherwitt.com/blog1/2008/05/18/preserve-winter-beach-access-for-dogs-in-fairfield/